ASX BNPL stock Sezzle Inc [ASX:SZL] rose more than 10% in late Thursday trade after underlying merchant sales rose 9.5% month-on-month to US$141.2 million.
Sezzle said in its July trading update it ‘continues to close the gap to profitability’.
The BNPL stock rallied unexpectedly last month, gaining more than 400% at one point in July but SZL shares have been trending down in August.
Despite today’s spike, SZL shares are down 15% in the past five days and down 70% year-to-date.
Source: www.tradingview.com
Sezzle’s July update
This morning BNPL stock Sezzle presented its trading metrics for the month of July.
Here are the highlights:
- Underlying Merchant Sales rose 9.5% month-on-month to US$141.2 million
- Total income grew 4% MoM to US$10.2 million
- Sezzle Premium now has 64,000 subscribers as of 16 August
- July cash burn decreased to US$1.8 million
Source: SZL
Sezzle said its new business initiatives — which it expects will generate US$40 million in annualised revenue and cost savings — are helping ‘drive the Company towards positive free cash flow and profitability’.
The new initiatives include:
- Offboarded or renegotiated rates with merchants and network partners
- Reduced workforce
- ‘Scaled back efforts’ in Europe and Brazil
- Withdrawal from Indian market
- Launch of Sezzle Premium subscription product
Sezzle: BNPL profitable by year end?
Sezzle’s Chairman and CEO Charlie Youakim thinks his company is on track to be a profitable business ‘by year end’.
‘July’s results demonstrate the progress and success of our initiatives in Sezzle’s evolution to be a profitable and positive free cash flow business by year end.
‘We understand the impact these initiatives have on growth, so teams are moving expeditiously to achieve profitability before refocusing efforts back to growth.’
That’s quite the turnaround for a firm that has accumulated US$170.5 million in losses.
In its most recent half-yearly, released earlier this week, Sezzle posted a net loss of US$43.3 million, up from H1 FY21’s net loss of US$30 million.
From fintech to battery tech
Now then, let’s look aside from the BNPL sector for a moment to consider the future of our daily commute.
Electric vehicles are likely to be the main way we’re driving in the years to come.
And while lithium, a major metal used in an EV battery, dominated financial headlines in 2021, we shouldn’t forget about the other critical metals…like copper, nickel, cobalt, and graphite.
With ASX lithium stocks stumbling this year, our experts believe there may be a smarter way to play the EV theme.
The smarter way involves what you might call lithium’s ‘little brother’.
Regards,
Kiryll Prakapenka
